Philly 7-year-old had gun in school

The School District has suspended a 7-year-old student who brought a loaded handgun to his North Philadelphia elementary school Monday, authorities said.

The boy, a first grader, brought the .357 Magnum to Reynolds School at 24th and Jefferson Streets and was showing it to his classmates about 8:15 a.m. in the cafeteria, according to Fernando Gallard, a district spokesman.

Other students reported the incident to a school police officer. The officer escorted the boy to the principal's office, where school officials searched the student's backpack and found the weapon, Gallard said.

The school contacted Philadelphia police and placed the student on suspension pending the findings of an investigation, Gallard said. No one was injured.

Police were trying to determine how the student got access to the handgun. No charges had been filed as of Monday evening.

Monday's incident marked the second time in a week that a Philadelphia student had brought a loaded firearm to school. A 7-year-old boy found a loaded revolver in his book bag Thursday at Samuel Daroff Charter School in West Philadelphia, authorities said. His stepfather, Tarron Wescott, 22, of Kingsessing, was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child and receiving stolen property.

Contact Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman at sabdur-rahman@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @sabdurr.